The Eunuch Confusion
5 Apr 2019
He was almost 50 years old when he was baptised. As he emerged from the water, he splashed and hooted pure joy – something unusual for a culturally reserved society. After that day he told us “Nothing will ever separate us because we are family now”.
I serve in a rural area of a very small Indonesian island where if you want to share the gospel, you need to get creative. Common things such as getting baptised or openly sharing faith can become a challenge and a real struggle here, particularly in predominantly Muslim communities. However, the Lord always finds a way to provide opportunities to reach people even in these types of places. You only need to stay alert and carefully listen to His voice.
Last year was quite extraordinary for me because people were baptised on our little island for the very first time – not an easy task given the security concerns involved in doing this public declaration. My teammate had been discipling a man for a couple of years and, at some point in his journey, they talked about what baptism symbolises by looking at some Bible. One day as they were reading and discussing the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch, this man’s demeanour completely changed. Little did we know that this man had misinterpreted the story and felt too embarrassed to ask for clarification as he thought that in order to follow Jesus, he needed to become a eunuch! After struggling and wrestling with this idea, he told my friend that he really wanted to follow Jesus and he would do anything to do so – like becoming a eunuch. This experience shifted our perspective and made us think about how people process scripture and this message that they had never heard before. Culture plays an important role in how people make sense of the world influencing people’s perceptions and opinions.
We continually ask God to reveal Himself to the people around us and especially to those who have already started their journey with Him; that they have the wisdom to navigate through the challenges of becoming a Christian and the implications of such a decision. We trust that He will show us His ways and teach us His paths; He will guide us and be our hope (Psalm 25:4-5). He will reveal to you the ‘how’ and ‘when’, so don’t be afraid to try new things like running a business that could bless a community or using your creative gifts to share the gospel. God wants your availability more than your ability because His grace is sufficient, and His power is perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
A Pioneers worker.
If you resonate with this story and would like to use your gifts and talents in mission, get in touch.